It was curious then that someone as adept as President Obama declined to reassure the public that he is on their side and eager to rein in both parties in an unpopular and out-of-control Establishment Congress. Instead, the president lashed out at his critics with party-line talking points. The president derided Republicans as the "just say no"...]]> Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600 This vote is indeed historic. This Congress will be remembered for its arrogance, corruption and stupidity. In the year of 2009, a Congress ignored the coming economic storm and impending bankruptcy of our entitlement programs and embarked on an ideological crusade to bring our nation as close to single-payer, government-run health care as possible. If this bill becomes law, future generations will rue this day and I will do everything in my power to work toward its repeal. This bill will ration care, cut Medicare, increase premiums, fund abortion and bury our children in debt.

This process was not compromise. This process was corruption. This bill passed because votes were...]]> Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The day after White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's Clintonesque plan to triangulate and divide Republicans and doctors failed a major newspaper published this headline: "Democrats Lose Big Test Vote on Health Legislation." The title was so fair and balanced many media obsessed White House advisers could have attributed it to Fox News. Yet, it was the New York Times that captured in a well-written, fair and subtle story the depth of the challenge the White House faces in its push to enact major health care reform legislation.

As the Times reported, "[Majority Leader Reid] needed 60 votes to proceed. He won only 47. And he could not blame Republicans. A dozen Democrats and...]]> Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Americans who are looking to Washington for leadership in a time of economic turmoil are likely going to be disappointed by this week's debate on the budget. Instead of seeing a new kind of politics and an honest debate that asks hard questions and contemplates tough choices between competing priorities, taxpayers will see more partisan role-playing and accounting sleight of hand. Before the budget debate even began, the script was already written.

In the majority's war room, aides are continuing the script of 2008 presidential campaign. In this script, every decision that contributed to our budget and economic challenges occurred during George Bush's tenure. President...]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 As a practicing physician currently serving in the United States Senate, I have been disappointed not only by Congress' inability to prevent cuts to the physician reimbursement rates within Medicare, but in our colleagues' inability to debate the real issues at hand honestly and constructively. While I appreciate the desire of Senate leaders to speak on behalf of doctors, I believe, as a doctor, that the American people deserve a better understanding of what is at stake in this debate, and in the larger debate about health care.

In short, the Senate's recent debate about physician reimbursement rates has been nothing more than a regularly-scheduled hostage...]]> Tue, 27 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500